[dustom_99]

Just converted, Now a HOG!

How was I Converted?

22nd of Feb,13.

Don't know why but my wify booked a Harley, and I was kept completely in the dark for a few days. Not for long, her surprise was ruined when I read an sms on her phone while she was out . 5 lakh bucks debited from account?? What the hell is going on was my first reaction.

I recalled the conversation we had about getting some gold, but 5 lakh was a bit too much. When she came home, I asked her what did she spend so much money on? She refused to reply , saying it was a Surprise!

"Hell No: I cant get cozy with surprise worth that much"
She never said "I Bought you a Harley" , actual words were "You bought yourself a Harley"
Me: No I did not!
Wife:Yes You just did,look at my bank account.
Me: Who told you I wanted a Harley?
WIfe: What do you watch that stupid Discovery Turbo for? And keep ruining your clothes making handlebars on farmhouse. Now wait for some time and enjoy the ride.

I was actually stumped!! I had never planned to buy a Harley.

Dream Harley?

If I were to plan and buy a HD, it would have been...ahmmm... Superlow (I knew I could work around raising that GC). Old school Looks, million dollar chrome and nice little everyday bike.

If I had the money, I would have gone for a Streetbob.

I had always felt HD to be a little more expensive than what they had to offer. Iron was another option, but was not really an option as my bike was already booked and my first choice in this bracket was always Superlow (Except The GC).

Actual Delivery.

Waiting period was told to be about 2 months, but I got the bike within a week.

Dealership Experience!

They could have been worse only if they were to slit my throat open as soon as I entered. Yesterday was my scheduled delivery date, reached there at 12.30, handshake and everything. I was told to wait for about an hour for the paper work to be completed.

Around 1.30 pm, they informed me that keys to the bike allotted to me have been lost! So, I will have to wait a couple of hours for them to sort out the mess out. At around 4 pm, the guy told me to go home and get the bike transported when its ready. It was the moment I lost my cool. As I had already paid the entire amount to them through NEFT, I could not even barge out of there.

Told them I am not going all the way back to Haridwar without a bike, and neither will they. Called my friend in HD Bawal plant, took some numbers from him and dialed a few bigshots. Half an hour later, I was allotted a different Superlow, and rest of the procedure took just 30 minutes. Harley Davidson or Parley Peterson, as soon as they are in India, Indian attitude prevails.

They lost the keys , and they were not even bothered as I had already paid!! Just like a road side garage, where if you walk in with your car, every mechanic attends to you and start ripping your car. Once its no longer ready to roll, they say "time lagega" and go and attend to "fresh murga". Showroom experience was the same for me. I sat there from 12 - 5 pm, and that's exactly what they were doing to whoever came in.

One thing I liked though, unlike Jap Superbike showrooms, where the doorkeeper stops the "not so well dressed /unlikely customer / poor looking guy" from entering, here entire families were entering from every segment of society, admiring the bikes.

I just hope service experience is not as bad as this one.

The Ride!

GREAT motorcycle this. Great cruiser; rode down from Chandigarh to Haridwar yesterday night. As long as its a highway, nothing comes close to the comfort it offered, as soon as you hit a broken patch, potholes, humps , nothing could probably be worse.

Chandigarh to Ambala was an awesome road, but as soon as you cross Ambala and head towards Saharanpur , all hell breaks loose. Potholes would drown the Superlow right up the handlebars, and they were not just a few here and there. The Entire 30 - 40 kms section is officially out of bounds for the Superlow.

I actually thought I was a u-boat navigation officer, had to plot every inch of the road. Where to enter the ditch and where would I get out from.

Thankfully, this bike is easy to flick and reacts on the tiniest of inputs. The side stand bracket scraped a number of times, although there is no real damage to report.

Returned a mileage of around 20 kpl for the journey.

Some Key points I noticed:-

Gearbox is very loud. Every shift can be heard (Loud kat), even inside the car behind with windows rolled up. Someone said to me "If it ain't loud, it ain't a Harley".

Gearbox never misses a gear. A Positive shift each and every time.

Side stand bracket is the lowest point I guess. If you can get rid of it, you will straight away be 5 mm richer. But the bike will still kiss speed breakers.

Front forks are said to have around 4" travel. However, 2 or more inches are consumed by sag and rider weight alone. Slightly stiffer springs would be good. That said, present suspension has its compression damping spot on for the highway (at least for my weight of 70 kg).

The paint & chrome is the best part of the bike. It's deep, has lots of character and shows real workmanship. However, don't expect the chrome you find on show cars on Discovery Turbo!

Superlow vibrates quite a lot on Idle for the first 5-7 minutes. I don't have a problem with vibration. Gives feel and mechanical appeal to the whole concept.

Braking was ordinary when the bike was showroom new. Brakes have been improving ever since and with 450 kms on the odo, they do the job quite well now.

Exhaust Note with stock mufflers is muted, but it still has lots of bass and low frequency sound. Just rev up to 2500 rpm or so under a tunnel and you'd know what I mean.

Stock mufflers do not attract much attention on busy city streets, which is the way I prefer it.

Acceleration is a handful. Speeds up to 100 kph are seen in no time. Even beyond 100 kph, the bike pulls eagerly (in 5th gear too!)

I like riding slow. Around 65 kph or so in 5th. Exhaust note is refreshing there.

Right hand grip has a very useful spring-loaded function, which will hold the throttle in the desired position on highways.

All essential parts like the Engine guard, Pillion foot rest, seat etc. are very expensive from the showroom. Be prepared to shell out 1+ lakh if you want a fully loaded Harley from the showroom.

Apart from that, the Superlow rocks as a cruiser!

Now I know why Harley is more expensive that what they actually should cost. The Wind on your face smells a lot sweeter with vibes and that musical exhaust. HD has been a symbol of freedom, and you can relate to American History and Actual Automotive History.

Will increase GC (without changing the shocks) and also fabricate an Engine guard soon.

[narsi_6989]

Let me be the first one to congratulate you. The machine looks awesome indeed. Wish you happy miles ahead

[BIG SARAN]

Congratulations. I believe yours would probably be the first HARLEY in Haridwar.
Isn't the low GC a big concern on our 'marvelous' roads down here in Saharanpur-MZN-Haridwar.? Have you made any plans to increase the height?

Have a safe and happy ridin' for a million miles..

[dustom_99]

Originally Posted by BIG SARAN

Congratulations. I believe yours would probably be the first HARLEY in Haridwar.
Isn't the low GC a big concern on our 'marvelous' roads down here in Saharanpur-MZN-Haridwar.? Have you made any plans to increase the height?

Have a safe and happy ridin' for a million miles..

I believe so, havent seen one in haridwar.
Low gc is surely a concern, i am goin to grind off that side stand bracket and fabricate another one at an alternate location, for the starters.
Thats the only thing that has touched the ground.
Doing this will expose the down tubes of the frame, but will give additional 5mm or so.
If the downtubes touch, after that, i plan to put in a 3mm skid plate below.
Apart from paint chippin off , and skid marks under frame, i do not think its tooo big a problem,it would take years and years to gring the frame tubes at this rate.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by dustom_99

If the downtubes touch, after that, i plan to put in a 3mm skid plate below.
Apart from paint chippin off , and skid marks under frame, i do not think its tooo big a problem,it would take years and years to gring the frame tubes at this rate.

Mate,
First of all congratulations on your new toy, Super Low is actually a nice bike sans the GC. It has an amazing tank which can give you a range of 275 kms on careful planning and moderate riding.

Regarding the GC, suggest you to upgrade the shock absorbers to Nightster. It should not be an expensive upgrade when compared to Progressive BRand of shocks. The rear and front can be upgraded which should give you an added clearance of 15-20 MM.

All the best, ride safe ensure you wear safety gear all the time. Do not use those half face helmets for highways, suggest a full face one.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by dustom_99

I just hope service experience is not as bad as this one.

That reminds me, what is your plan of getting it serviced? Will the dealer send someone over to Haridwar? Will this cost extra? Does this run on normal petrol successfully?

What are the service intervals and the associated costs thereof?

And yes, congrats on the purchase and keep thumping..!!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorbikes Section. Thanks for sharing!

[DocRock]

Congratulations on your sportster. Ride Hard, Ride Safe.

[dustom_99]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

That reminds me, what is your plan of getting it serviced? Will the dealer send someone over to Haridwar? Will this cost extra? Does this run on normal petrol successfully?

What are the service intervals and the associated costs thereof?

And yes, congrats on the purchase and keep thumping..!!

Yes, normal petrol is doing just fine. It is not such a hightech engine.
I plan to go to Delhi for service,after 1st service at 1600km, next 8k km is going to take some time. So service is not such a big problem. 4-6k for every service I guess.

[jkdas]

Wow! almost filmy! Congrats !

Interesting to note that you got it within a week! And they even had a spare!

And is that the stock seat?

[dustom_99]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Wow! almost filmy! Congrats !

Interesting to note that you got it within a week! And they even had a spare!

And is that the stock seat?

Well, they did not have one in spare, that bike was to be delievered to someone else in a few days. May be they would change lock set for the keys they lost.
Yes stock seat, everything else stock aswell.

[vikram_d]

First and foremost congrats on the ride and secondly I would love for you to do a comparo with your 4 cylinder turbo diesel bike.

[Mahven]

Well,Sir! You have got one great woman in your life and a great machine to ride as a gift if you ask me. Happy and safe miles on the SuperLow.

[dustom_99]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

First and foremost congrats on the ride and secondly I would love for you to do a comparo with your 4 cylinder turbo diesel bike.

Will do comapro in detail later, but for a start,here it goes.
883- 70nm/60-65bhp. - FALCON CRDI- 250nm/110bhp
Weight- 260kg. - 310kg
Wheelbase. - 60inch. - 68inch
Seat hight. -25inch. - 26inch

With about 250nm/ton, superlow is absolutely no match for 750nm/ton Tdi bike in acceleration. I never ever use 1st and 2nd. Gear of diesel bike on road,for my own safety.
0-100:- 6-7SECS FOR 883, 3-4 SECS FOR FALCON
Acceleration- ADVANTAGE FALCON CRDI.

Ride- Sportster is sporty and very very easy to ride, anyone getting an upgrade from Indian bikes will get used to in couple of hours.
Slow speed manners ,city,crowd nothing is a problem for superlow.
Diesel bike is a big beast, although it handles decently on road, it is not nimble and zippy. Turning around on a crowded narrow street is a nightmare.
Ride-Advantage 883

Looks & Appeal
Well , less said, the better.
Advantage 883

Sound and NVH
If some one cared for NVH , he would not buy an Hd
For the record, diesel bike has lower NVH, may be on idle both would be very similar on vibrations , but on top end diesel gets harsh.
Advantage- Who cares for NVH ANYWAY?

If Diesel bike had a vin and was registered, I would ride it on a highway anyday over any harley, it has mad torque and practically is almost an automatic.
In city superlow is so much better, its controlable, flickable, practical and shiny.

Actually diesel bike would be better ,getting stacked up against bigger harleys.

[bigron]

Congratulations ! Though not really enamoured by the whole Harley breed of things , always happy too see a biker get his ride. Ride it like you stole it. Be safe doing it !